I started looking at Portugal like a UX designer.

And suddenly, ordinary things started teaching me UX.

Food.
Cafés.
Music.
Trams.
Tiles.
Government services.

The more I looked, the more I realised that UX isn’t limited to screens.

It’s about how people experience the world around a product or service. 

1. Taste before you add salt

There’s a simple lesson in food:

Don’t assume. Test.

As designers, we often think:

“Users need this feature.”

But instead of immediately adding more, we can:

Ask → Observe → Prototype → Test → Learn

Don’t season the product before you’ve tasted the experience.

2. Don’t rush the pastelaria

Portugal made me question something designers often optimise for:

Is faster always better UX?

We optimise for fewer clicks, faster checkout, quicker flows and instant responses.

But sometimes the user’s goal isn’t:

“Finish this faster.”

It’s:

“Enjoy this experience.”

Good UX isn’t always about reducing time.

Sometimes it’s about making the time worthwhile. 

3. Don’t interrupt the Fado

Fado taught another UX lesson:

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not interrupt.

Random pop-ups.
Unnecessary notifications.
Aggressive CTAs.
Unexpected redirects.
Interruptive onboarding.

If the user is already focused, why are we pulling them away?

Protect the user’s flow.

Don’t make your interface the interruption.

4. The tram knows where it’s going

A tram doesn’t just take you somewhere.

You also need to know:

Where am I?
Where am I going?
What’s the next stop?
When should I get off?

That’s wayfinding.

Digital products need it too.

Good navigation should help users:

Orient → Understand → Move → Confirm

If users constantly ask, “Where do I go now?”, you may have a wayfinding problem. 

5. Azulejos and design systems

Look at Portuguese azulejos.

One tile can be simple.

But repeated patterns create:

Consistency. Recognition. A visual language.

That’s also what a good design system does:

Components → Patterns → Rules → Consistency

A design system isn’t about making everything identical.

It’s about creating a language users can recognise. 

6. Design the service, not just the screen

Government services made the lesson even bigger.

A public service might involve:

Website → App → Phone → In-person service

The user’s experience doesn’t stop when they leave one interface.

So the question becomes:

“What does the user’s entire journey look like?”

That’s service design thinking.

7. Don’t make users do the same work twice

Imagine giving your information to one channel, only to have another channel ask for exactly the same information again.

Frustrating.

Good service design tries to reduce unnecessary repetition.

Ask:

  • What does the user already know?
  • What have they already done?
  • What information can move with them?
  • Don’t make users repeat work simply because your systems are disconnected.

8. Accessibility is part of the experience

Don’t ask:

“Can most people use this?”

Ask:

“Who might struggle with this?”

Think about:

Vision.
Hearing.
Mobility.
Cognition.
Language.
Device.
Environment.

Accessibility isn’t a finishing touch.

It’s part of the experience.

The pattern

After looking at all of this, one pattern kept appearing:

PEOPLE → CONTEXT → JOURNEY → NEEDS → CONSTRAINTS → OUTCOMES

That’s UX.

Good experiences aren’t created by one clever interface decision.

They’re created by understanding the bigger picture.

The Portugal UX Checklist

Before you design, ask:

☐ Did I test before assuming?
☐ Am I optimising for speed or experience?
☐ Am I interrupting the user’s flow?
☐ Does the user know where to go next?
☐ Am I using consistent patterns?
☐ Am I designing the whole journey?
☐ Am I making users repeat unnecessary work?
☐ Can everyone actually use this?

**Look closer.

There’s a UX lesson everywhere.**